It makes the perfectbedtime snack.The carbs in cereal increase levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which makes us feel happy and relaxed. And the milk’s tryptophan content converts to serotonin, too. Plus, there’s calcium and magnesium in milk, both of which are calming.

Cranberry juice helps stopurinary-tract infections, thanks to compounds that keep bacteria from sticking to bladder walls. But if you drink it before bed, it’ll be more effective. Urologist Dr. Amy Howell says it’s because the compounds sit in the bladder overnight, and work longerfighting infection-causing bacteria.

When bedtime rolls around, if you’re not tired, DON’T go to bed and lie there awake… You’ll only condition yourself to associate your bedwith staring at the ceiling and frustration. But you should associate it with peaceful slumber. So instead, stay up half an hour – oran hour – later. Butset your alarm for the usual time the next day. According to the Annals Of Internal Medicine, that’ll help you get sleepybefore you hit the hay.

What’s the best time to go to bed when you have an early appointment the next day? The common wisdom is to go to bed early if we have an early start the next day. But Dr. Kenneth Wright Jr., who directs the University of Colorado’s Sleep Lab, says that can backfire… Because if you force yourself to go to bed, and you’re not tired, the stress can make it harder to fall asleep. Instead, always go to bed at the same time every night, no matter what. Even if you know you have to be awake again in a few hours. The sleep you do get will be morerestful and you won’t throw off your sleep schedule.

Eat some pasta, potatoes or ricetwo hours before you plan to go to bedat your destination. According to research from Yamaguchi University in Japan, those simple carbs are high on the glycemic index – which means our body breaks them down really quickly. That releases the neurotransmitter tryptophan into our system, which promotes sleep.

If you always wake up during the night, try massaging your ankles before bed. Researchers at the University of Arkansas say an ankle massagestimulates the nerve pathways that boost production of the calming hormoneoxytocin… Which should help you wake up less often during the night. And pay special attention to the indentations just below your ankle bones. Experts say that 3 minutes of massage is all it takes for a better night’s sleep.

Stoppaying bills or watching the financial newsbefore bed. The National Sleep Foundation says 27% of people are kept awake by money worries. Instead, Dr. Rubin Naiman, a sleep specialist from the University of Arizona, says to watch a comedybefore bed. Laughter reducesblood pressure and decreases your heart and respiratory rate, helping yourelax.

For years we’ve been told that exercise improvessleep… But we can’t work out TOO close to bedtime because our core temperature needs to drop for sleep hormones to kick in. So how late in the day can we exercise and still get the sleep benefits? Dr. Kelly Glazer Baron is a neurology professor at Northwestern University… and she says, about 3 hoursbefore bed should be your exercise cutoff time. Within 3 months, you should be sleeping about 45 minutes longer, and getting better quality sleep. Because that’s how long it takes for the improvements in mood from exercise to have a lasting effect on sleep.

Here’s a new nighttime snack for you: Jell-O. It’s one of the best sources of glycine – an amino acid that helps our body naturallyreduce our core temperature. And as you know, cooling off the bodytriggers our sleep hormones. Glycine also relaxes nerves and muscles and acts as a mild sedative. So have a serving of Jell-O about 2 hoursbefore bed and you’ll sleep more deeply.